Telomeric perfluoroalkyl iodides are commercial products widely used for the preparation of a variety of valuable polyfluorinated compounds.
Various processes are known in the art for preparing perfluoroalkyl iodides based on the telomerization of lower perfluoroolefins (e.g., TFE) with fluoroalkyl iodides. A detailed description of the telomerization process is set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,234,294 and 3,132,185, which are incorporated herein by reference. The telomerization process takes place in the presence of an initiator. Some processes are initiated by peroxycompounds (Jap. Pat. 72-102032 and 72-102-031 10/12/1972, Ger. Pat. DE 2130378 1/27/1972, Fr. Pat. 2163444,08/31/1973, Ger. Pat. DE 2542496, 03/31/1977); some by metals (J. Fluor. Chem. 36(4), 483-489, 1987) or salts of some metals in combination with hydroxyalkylamines (U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,916, Jan. 10, 1978); others are thermally initiated (U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,189, 0/1/1968) or initiated by a mixture of IF.sub.5/SbF.sub.5 (U.S. 3,132,185, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,294, Feb. 8, 1966). These last two patent s teach the react ion of iodine, iodine pentafluoride and tetrafluoroethylene to produce perfluoroalkyl iodides, conducted in the presence of an antimony pentafluoride, antimony trifluoride or anhydrous stannous fluoride catalyst.